Flash strike by guards delays suburban trains

Most guards on local trains abstained from work Thursday protesting “irritable” behaviour of the area officer at Churchgate, forcing station masters and traffic inspectors to take up their role.

The protest delayed suburban trains by 15-20 minutes.

The guards returned to duty in the evening after seniors promised action against the area officer.

Four days ago, guard Rakesh Jha had gone on a hunger strike at Churchgate Station after he was denied leave despite applying two months back.

A guard said, “When Jha did not get leave till four hours before departure of his train, he hanged a poster around his neck announcing an indefinite hunger strike. He was granted 10 days leave after this. We are disappointed with such behaviour of the area officer.’’

All the 417 guards in the suburban section refused to work extra hours in protest. They met additional divisional railway manager Vinay Tripathi and senior divisional operations manager Rajneesh Agarwal and complained against the area officer.